Short-range lifebuoy launcher

ABSTRACT

A short-range life saving device is provided. After removing a safety pin and throwing a housing, a wound portion of a line unwinds, a spring loaded sliding disc pushes down a first needle until being stopped, the first needle punctures an auxiliary air canister to release compressed air, the compressed air enters a receptacle, the compressed air flows out of the receptacle into a first portion of a second cylinder via an axial hole, a second needle is pushed down when the pressure reaches a predetermined value, the second needle punctures a main air canister to release compressed air prior to entering a second portion of the second cylinder, the compressed air flows out of the second portion of the second cylinder into the first cylinder, the compressed air flows into a lifebuoy for inflation via a tube, and the inflated lifebuoy separates the housing into two halves.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to life saving devices and more particularly to acompressed air powered device for launching a lifebuoy from short-rangeto save a person overwhelmed in water.

2. Description of Related Art

A conventional life saving device having a launcher is provided for anautomatic inflation of a float by simply acting on a lever. Themechanism comprises a gas canister at a top portion with the float sothat the canister is traversed by a hollow cut-off cock whose lower endprojects from a container and is terminated by the lever. The upper endis introduced inside the float and the gas penetrating through thehollow tube of the cock. Integral with the assembly is a ring connectedto a rolled-up cable which is integrally formed with the launcher. Thelauncher is mounted in a gun so that a life saving assembly can belaunched toward a target in danger.

While it has some utility, improvements in these products are desired,and these improvements are provided by the invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore one object of the invention to provide a life savingdevice comprising a housing consisting of at least two detachable piecesand comprising a neck having an opening; a cylindrical cap assemblycomprising an annular groove on an outer surface, a hollow extension, astop member secured to an opening of the extension, a transverse holethrough the extension, a safety pin inserted through the transversehole, and a spring biased sliding disc having one end secured to thestop member and an other end urging against the safety pin; a firstneedle moveably disposed in the cap assembly and comprising an annularfirst flange proximate to the safety pin; a buoyant assembly disposed inthe housing and comprising a hollow first cylinder having a top securedto the opening of the neck and including an inflatable lifebuoy disposedaround the first cylinder; a tube being in fluid communication with boththe first cylinder and the lifebuoy; a delay mechanism comprising areceptacle, an annular second flange on a bottom of the receptacle, anaxial hole through a center of the second flange, and an auxiliary aircanister disposed in the receptacle and being in close proximity to thefirst needle, a hollow second cylinder having one end secured to thesecond flange and an opening on an other end, a disc affixed to an innersurface of the second cylinder to divide the second cylinder into afirst portion defined between the disc and the second flange and asecond portion defined between the disc and the main air canister, thedisc having a central hole, and a main air canister disposed in thesecond cylinder spaced from the disc and having a bottom engaged withthe opening of the second cylinder; a second needle spaced from thereceptacle and moveably disposed through the central hole of the disc,the second needle being in close proximity to the main air canister; anda line having one fastened end and an other end wound on the annulargroove, the line comprising an extension tied to the safety pin; whereinin response to a removal of the safety pin and a throwing of thehousing, a portion of the line wound on the annular groove unwinds, thesliding disc pushes down the first needle until the first flange engagesthe extension, the first needle punctures the auxiliary air canister torelease compressed air from the auxiliary air canister, the compressedair enters the receptacle, the compressed air flows out of thereceptacle into the first portion of the second cylinder via the axialhole, pressure in the first portion of the second cylinder increasesconstantly, the second needle is pushed down when the pressure reaches apredetermined value, the second needle punctures the main air canisterto release compressed air from the main air canister prior to entering asecond portion of the second cylinder, the compressed air flows out ofthe second portion of the second cylinder into the first cylinder viathe opening of the second cylinder, pressure in the first cylinderincreases constantly, the compressed air flows into the lifebuoy forinflation via the tube, and the inflated lifebuoy separates the housinginto the at least two pieces.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the inventionwill become apparent from the following detailed description taken withthe accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a life saving device according to theinvention;

FIG. 2A is an exploded view of the life saving device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2B is a further exploded view of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal section of the life saving device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a detailed view of an upper part of FIG. 3 where the firstneedle pierces the auxiliary air canister and the second needle piercesthe main air canister in an initial phase;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 showing the first needle clears theauxiliary air canister and the second needle clears the main aircanister in a first intermediate phase;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing a second intermediate phase;and

FIG. 7 schematically depicts a final phase with the lifebuoy beingexpanded and the housing being split into two halves.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 7, a life saving device in accordance with theinvention comprises the following components as discussed in detailbelow.

A housing 1 consists of two detachable halves and comprises acylindrical top neck 17 having an opening 14. A cylindrical cap assembly2 comprises an annular groove 21 on an outer surface, a narrow extension22, a disc-shaped member 24 secured to an opening of the extension 22,and a transverse hole 29 through the extension 22. A safety pin 4 isinserted through the hole 29 to support a sliding disc 26 in theextension 22. A helical spring 25 is biased between the disc-shapedmember 24 and the sliding disc 26. A moveable first needle 20 ismoveably provided in the cap assembly 2 and comprises an annular flange23 proximate to the safety pin 4, an annular groove 27 proximate to apointed end, and an O-ring 28 sealingly put on the groove 27.

A buoyant assembly 9 is provided in the housing 1 and comprises a hollowcylinder 91 having a top secured to the opening 14 and having a bottomhole 92, and an inflatable lifebuoy 90 disposed around the cylinder 91.A tube 15 has one end inserted into the hole 92 and the other endinserted into the surface of the lifebuoy 90. A delay mechanism 3comprises a cylindrical receptacle 31 having an internal space 35, anannular flange 39 on a bottom of the receptacle 31, an axial hole 33through the center of the flange 39, and an auxiliary air canister 30disposed in the space 35 and having a top 32 in close proximity to apointed end of the first needle 20. A hollow, cylindrical member 11 hasone end secured to the flange 39 and an opening 13 on the other end. Thedelay mechanism 3 further comprises a disc 36 affixed to the innersurface of the cylindrical member 11 to divide the cylindrical member 11into a first portion defined between the disc 36 and the second flange39 and a second portion defined between the disc 36 and a main aircanister 10 in the cylindrical member 11, the disc 36 having a hole 34through its center. The main air canister 10 is provided under the disc36 and has a bottom engaged with the opening 13.

A moveable second needle 40 is under the receptacle 31 and is disposedthrough the hole 34 of the disc 36. The second needle 40 comprises anannular groove 41 and an O-ring 42 sealingly put on the groove 41. Thepointed end of the second needle 40 is in close proximity to a top 12 ofthe main air canister 10. A line 6 has one end affixed to an anchor 60and the other end wound on the groove 21. The line 6 has an extension 61tied to the safety pin 4.

A rescue operation of the invention is described in detail below. Aperson may remove the safety pin 4 from the hole 29 and throws the lifesaving device toward a person being overwhelmed in water. The portion ofthe line 6 wound on the groove 21 unwinds. The energized spring 25expands to push down the sliding disc 26 which in turn pushes down thefirst needle 20 until the flange 23 engages a bottom of the extension 22(i.e., being stopped). The pointed end of the first needle 20 thuspunctures the top 32 of the auxiliary air canister 30 to releasecompressed air from the auxiliary air canister 30 prior to entering thereceptacle 31. The compressed air flows out of the receptacle 31 intothe space 35 via the hole 33. The pressure in the space 35 increasesconstantly and will push down the second needle 40 when the pressurereaches a predetermined value. The pointed end of the second needle 40punctures the top 12 of the main air canister 10 to release compressedair from the main air canister 10 prior to entering the cylindricalmember 10. The compressed air flows out of the cylindrical member 11into the cylinder 91 via the opening 13. The pressure in the cylinder 91increases constantly and the compressed air flows into the lifebuoy 90for inflation via the tube 15. The inflated lifebuoy 90 finallyseparates the housing 1 into two halves and places in close proximity tothe person being overwhelmed in water. It is understood that there is atime delay calculated from the removal of the safety pin 4 to thelifebuoy 90 being placed in close proximity to the person beingoverwhelmed in water.

While the invention has been described in terms of preferredembodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the inventioncan be practiced with modifications within the spirit and scope of theappended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A life saving device comprising: a housingconsisting of at least two detachable pieces and comprising a neckhaving an opening; a cylindrical cap assembly comprising an annulargroove on an outer surface, a hollow extension, a stop member secured toan opening of the extension, a transverse hole through the extension, asafety pin inserted through the transverse hole, and a spring biasedsliding disc having one end secured to the stop member and an other endurging against the safety pin; a first needle moveably disposed in thecap assembly and comprising an annular first flange proximate to thesafety pin; a buoyant assembly disposed in the housing and comprising ahollow first cylinder having a top secured to the opening of the neckand including an inflatable lifebuoy disposed around the first cylinder;a tube being in fluid communication with both the first cylinder and thelifebuoy; a delay mechanism comprising a receptacle, an annular secondflange on a bottom of the receptacle, an axial hole through a center ofthe second flange, and an auxiliary air canister disposed in thereceptacle and being in close proximity to the first needle, a hollowsecond cylinder having one end secured to the second flange and anopening on an other end, a disc affixed to an inner surface of thesecond cylinder to divide the second cylinder into a first portiondefined between the disc and the second flange and a second portiondefined between the disc and the main air canister, the disc having acentral hole, and a main air canister disposed in the second cylinderspaced from the disc and having a bottom engaged with the opening of thesecond cylinder; a second needle spaced from the receptacle and moveablydisposed through the central hole of the disc, the second needle beingin close proximity to the main air canister; and a line having onefastened end and an other end wound on the annular groove, the linecomprising an extension tied to the safety pin; wherein in response to aremoval of the safety pin and a throwing of the housing, a portion ofthe line wound on the annular groove unwinds, the sliding disc pushesdown the first needle until the first flange engages the extension, thefirst needle punctures the auxiliary air canister to release compressedair from the auxiliary air canister, the compressed air enters thereceptacle, the compressed air flows out of the receptacle into thefirst portion of the second cylinder via the axial hole, pressure in thefirst portion of the second cylinder increases constantly, the secondneedle is pushed down when the pressure reaches a predetermined value,the second needle punctures the main air canister to release compressedair from the main air canister prior to entering a second portion of thesecond cylinder, the compressed air flows out of the second portion ofthe second cylinder into the first cylinder via the opening of thesecond cylinder, pressure in the first cylinder increases constantly,the compressed air flows into the lifebuoy for inflation via the tube,and the inflated lifebuoy separates the housing into the at least twopieces.